What Is Myth?
Myth, in the context of mimetic theory, is a story based on a culture’s use of scapegoating. It believes that the unanimous violence against a victim is justified because it creates temporary order out of the chaos of mimetic rivalry. Myth, however, neglects the relative innocence of the scapegoat: The scapegoat may be guilty or innocent of the accusations, but the scapegoat is likely to be no more, and no less, guilty than anyone else in that society. Modern scholars tend to think that myths are completely imaginary and fabricated stories. For Girard, myths disclose very real social crises within the societies out of which they originated. These social crises include contagious violence and disorder. In myths, these social crises are ended by violence directed against a single victim. As myth places blame solely on the victim, it sides with the community, or crowd, over and against the victim. Myth further justifies itself by demonizing the victim as the sole source of the contagious
